Transition to digital leaves Hollywood without film

Hollywood is in the midst of a titanic technological shift as it moves from shooting and distributing its movies on film, long the raw material of the movie business, to digital formats. While some are prospering as cinema goes digital, others are casualties of the change. There are small armies of people who once worked in Hollywood’s enormous film processing labs. These were the places, owned and operated by companies like Deluxe and Technicolor, that produced thousands of film prints to send out to movie theaters across the country and around the world. However, with the embrace of digital technology, these “film factories” are closing, and people are losing their jobs.

The Vineland Drive-In is one of the last surviving drive-in movie theaters in Southern California. It has a retro, well-worn feel to it, but the Vineland’s converted to projecting its movies digitally instead of on film. “We were forced to transition to the digital system because they are going to stop making 35 millimeter print, so either you change, or you won’t get any movies, says Juan Gonzalez, the Vineland’s general manager. (Photo: Saul Gonzalez)